Wilderness Hacks by Joslin Brorsen

Hatchet meets Survivor in this high-action, humor-filled middle grade adventure about two kids stranded in the wilderness, whose annoyance with each other rivals the roaring rapids and ferocious predators they must face.

12-year-old Sadie Hahn didn’t plan to eat grubs on camera to win a contest. And she definitely didn’t plan to win first prize—a guest appearance on a Youtube show hosted by America’s favorite 13-year-old survivalist Radley Shaw. But she’ll do anything to cheer up her little brother Silas, who’s too young to qualify.

Rad has millions of followers and exactly zero real-life friends, so the contest is a great chance for him to hang out with kids his own age. But it’s hate-at-first-sight when Silas throws a wrench in his plan and Sadie decides Rad is just a clueless poser who doesn’t know the first thing about survival.

Disaster strikes when their scripted rafting trip turns into a real fight for survival. Lost in the mountains, Rad and Sadie must find shelter, build a fire, forage for food and try not to become food for a hungry predator. But can they stop bickering long enough to hack it in the wilderness? And will that be enough to keep them alive?

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published March 31, 2026

 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

4/5 stars

The cover drew me to Wilderness Hacks, I love a great outdoorsy middle grade adventure story. Plus this is the author's debut.

This adventure starts off as pure fun. Sadie is so determined to cheer up her little brother that she’ll happily munch on grubs for the camera if that’s what it takes and her prize is a chance to film with Radley Shaw, a teenage YouTube survival star with millions of fans. The trouble is that Sadie and Rad rub each other the wrong way from the moment they meet and she’s pretty sure his survival skills are more for show than for real.

Then disaster strikes and the story takes a serious turn. Suddenly the cameras don’t matter,  two kids who can barely stand each other have to rely on one another to get out of the wilderness alive.

I enjoyed Brorsen’s writing style. The story moves along at a good clip, switching between Sadie and Rad so you get to know both sides, there’s still humour sprinkled in even when things get tense. The characters are likeable and I liked watching how they changed along the way. Their journey isn’t just about finding their way home, it’s also about learning to trust each other and seeing past first impressions.

This would be a great pick for young readers who love survival stories, it’s an impressive debut. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the second book, coming in 2027.

This book is part of my 2026 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge - #35